Accused in Kevin Morais murder trial says his testimony might be his last

KUALA LUMPUR: An accused in the murder trial of Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais told the judge that this testimony may be his last.
S. Ravi Chandaran, 47, asked to speak to High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah as he took his stand implying that his life is under threat as the trial entered its 15th day at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.
"Can I speak to Yang Arif? After I give this testimony, I don't know if I would be alive or dead. This may be my last testimony," Ravi who is the seventh accused said in Tamil to the court translator.
However, Azman told him that if there were any issues, he should speak to his lawyer V. Rajehgopal.
Rajehgopal then replied that he in only representing the accused in this case and does not know about his personal problems.
During the cross examination by Rajehgopal, Ravi said that G. Gunasekaran , or Jay, (the second accused who was later acquitted) told him that he needed to go collect money that he had borrowed to someone who lived in Dutamas on Sept 3, 2015.
"Jay said he needed to collect the money from someone he borrowed it to. We drove to Dutamas and waited there for about 15-20 minutes," he told the court.
Ravi also said he had questioned Jay if he was so rich that he had borrowed money to a person who lived in Dutamas.
"I asked him how much was the amount he borrowed but he said he will tell me later," Ravi answered when lawyer Rajehgopal pressed on about the details of the money involved.
Ravi told the court that he has known Jay for about 23 years and has helped him out years ago when Jay was out of a job and faced financial difficulties.
In December last year, the High Court had discharged and acquitted Gunasekaran (Jay), the second accused in the murder trial after DPP Saiful Edris Zainuddin applied to withdraw the murder charge against him.
Gunasekaran then became the prosecution's witness after he pleaded guilty in the sessions court and was sentenced to two years in jail effective from the date of his arrest on Sept 15, 2015 after he pleaded guilty to concealing Kevin Morais' body and disposing of the plate number of the deceased's car, WA 6264Q.
Kevin was reported missing on Sept 4, 2015.
He was seen leaving his apartment at Menara Duta here and driving away in a Proton Perdana with the registration number WA6264Q.
His body was found inside a drum filled with concrete at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya near here, on Sept 16, 2015.
R. Dinishwaran, A. K. Thinesh Kumar, M. Vishwanath, Nimalan, S. Ravi Chandaran, and army colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, pleaded not guilty to the charge of killing Morais on the way from Jalan Dutamas 1, Sentul to No.1 Jalan USJ 1 / 6D, Subang Jaya, between 7am and 8pm, on Sept 4, 2015 under Section 302 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same code which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Ravi will continue his testimony tomorrow, and there are six more witnesses who will be called to testify.